Daniel o hara



(No Model.) V

D. OHARA..

WATCH CASE HINGE. Y No. 435,765. Y PajtentedSept. 2, 1890.

WTNESEEE: lfm/ENTER:

M @fm- UNITED STATES PATENT f OEEICE.

DANIEL oHAEA, or WALTIIAu, MASSACHUSETTS, AsSIeNoE To THE AMERICAN WALTI-IAM WATCH ooMPANY. 1

WATCH-CASE HlNGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 435,765, dated September 2, 1890.

Application filed March 2l, 1890. Serial No. 344,786. (No model.)

To all whom it may concermy Be it known that I, DANIEL OHAEA, of Waltham, in the county of Middlesex `and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vatch Cases, of which the following is a specifica# tion.

This invention has for its object to enable the back and outer cap or front of a hunting-case Watch and the back and bezel of an open-face Watch to. be detachably connected to the case-center and connected to each other by a hinge which is contained Within the circle of the margin of the case-center, so that said hinge will not project at any point outside of the periphery of the case-center.

The invention consists in a case-center having a portion of its periphery cut away to form a socket or recess extending across the casecenter, combined with a back and a front cap, each having an offset hinge member, said members being connected by hinge-pivot and formed to be received in the socket made in the periphery of the case-center, the arrangement being such that When either of said parts-viz., the back or the front cap-are snapped to place upon a shoulder of the casecenter the other movable part Will be secured to the case-center only by the engagement of the said first-mentioned part, so that both 'of the movable parts may be detached and removed from the case-center by simply disengaging their snap-edges from the shoulders with which said edges engage, as I Will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents an edge view of a watch-case embodying my invention, the movable partseviz., the back and the front cap-being closed upon the casecenter. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents `a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. i represents a side view of the portion of the casecenter in which the above-mentioned socket is formed, the removable parts being separated from the case-center. Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of the portion of the casecenter shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 represents a perspec tive view of portions of the back and of the front cap, showing the hinge members formed thereon, said parts being separated. -Fig.' 7 represents a perspectiveview of the parts shown in Fig. 6, the hinge members of the back and of the front cap being connected by their pivot.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures. f

In the drawinga'a' represents a case-center, in the periphery of which is formed at one side a socket or recess b, Vwhich extends across the outer portion of the case-center, and has a fiat side 2 and flat ends 3 3 substantially at right angles to the side 2. c represents the back, and d the front, cap of a hunting-case Watch. Said removable parts viz., the back c and cap cZ-are provided, respectively, With offset hinge members c and cZ, said members having sockets for the reception of the pin or pivot e, that connects the members c and d and forms a part of the hinge. The members c d are formed as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, to closely t the socket or recess Z?, so that when the back c and front cap d are snapped to place upon the shoulders formed for their engagement on the case-center the pivot e of the hinge Will be Within the recess b, its ends bearing against the ends 3 3 ot said recess, as shown in Fig. 3, so that there are no projections formed by the hinge on the periphery of the case-center. It will be seen that each of the removable parts when snapped to place upon the case-center constitutes a holder to secure the other removable part. In other Words, when the snap-edge of the back cis engaged with the corresponding shoulder on the casecenter the front cap d may be opened and closed in the usual way, the hinge member of said front cap being permitted to turn on the hinge member of the back, the latter being for the time aixed to the case-center. In like manner, when the front cap d is secured to the case-center the back c may be opened and closed. It will be seen, however, that when both the back c and the front cap d are disengaged from the case-center there is not-hing to retain said parts in connection with the case-center, so that they may be entirely separated from the latter.

In hunting-case watches the front cap d may be secured to the case-center by the usual spring-catch instead of by the engagement of a snap-edge with a shoulder on said case-center. In open-face watches the part here called the front cap7 will obviously be a bezel, and will be provided with a snap-edge like the back c. The case-center is preferably thickened at the point where the recess b is formed, so that a solid wall a; will be interposed between said recess and the interior of the case-center, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that no dirt or dust can enter the casecenter at the vicinity of the hinge-connection of the parts c and d therewith.

I claim 1. A watcl1case center having a recess or socket cnt in its periphery for the reception of removable hinge members formed on the back and front cap, as set forth.

2. The back and front cap provided-with inwardly-projecting or offset hinge melnbers connected by a pivot between said back and front cap, said members projecting inwardly from the parts to which they are attached,

and constituting a hinge formed to enter a. recess or socket in the periphery of the casecenter, said hinge separating the back and cap by a space of sufficient width to receive the exposed periphery of the case-center, as set forth.

3. The combination of the casecenter having a socket formed in its periphery at one side, and the removable parts having oiset hinge members connected by pin or pivot, the hinge composed of said members being formed to closely tit said socket, and having its outer surface formed as a continuation of the periphery of the case-center, as set forth.

4. A watch-case center having a hingere ceiving socket or recess in the exterior of its periphery and a solid wall separating said socket from the interior of the case-center, as set forth.

In testimony whereoi:` I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 17th day of March, A.. D. 1890.

DANIEL OITARA. Witnesses:

CHAs. P. MCN'ABB, JOHN F. MELODY. 

